Jack for vehicles

ABSTRACT

A vehicle jack with a reinforced nut and a device to eliminate noise when the jack is in the folded position. The nut is composed of two bodies ( 5, 5 ′), outer and inner, respectively, which have mutual additional surface contact point ( 6, 20 ) and ( 11, 17 ) and the reinforcing part has some lugs ( 34 ) that engage the more forward or front end of the screw spindle.

The present application is the national stage under 35 U.S.C. §371 ofinternational application PCT/ES00/00330, filed Aug. 22, 2000, whichdesignated the United States, and which application was not published inthe English language.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a jack for raising vehicles, of the type knownas “Y” jacks, consisting of a support leg equipped with a foot and avehicle support arm that turns on the support leg, in which the twoupper ends of the support leg and the vehicle support arm are linked bymeans of a screw spindle that connects a nut in the support leg and across member in the vehicle support arm, with this screw spindle beingturned by means of a winding handle. The movements of the screw spindlein one turning direction or the other cause the upper end of the vehiclesupport arm to be raised or lowered, so that by incorporating a vehiclesupport plate to bear the weight of the vehicle bodywork, the vehiclesupport arm arises or lowers the vehicle.

2. Prior Art

In certain types of jacks, made of aluminium, the vehicle support armincludes an auxiliary or reinforcing part at its upper end, which ishoused inside the said vehicle support arm, as described in thepublication EP. A. 0887303. In these jacks, the end of the screw spindlereaches close to the reinforcing part, more specifically through thehead of the screw spindle or its riveted end portion, causing noise whenthe jack is in its folded position due to vibration from the vehiclebeing transmitted to the parts in question.

Also known through U.S. Pat. No. 1,901,915 is the existence of a nut,through which a screw spindle passes, which is included inside aU-shaped metal part which is secured to the arms of the jack.

Also known through WO. A. 99/29615 is a “Y” type jack that includes anut housed in the interior of a U-shaped metal part, in which the metalpart is provided with some cylindrical necks that are housed in holes inthe wings of the cross section of the vehicle support arm. The nut isprepared so that it does not turn inside the metal part.

In these last two references, the screw spindle passes through the nutand a hole in the base of the U-shaped metal part, so that when the jackis bearing a load, the excessive concentration of stresses takes placeon the nut and against the base of the metal part, causing the nut tobecome unusable.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the invention is to provide a vehicle jack which isequipped with a unit composed of a nut and a metal part that preventsthe concentration of stresses on the nut and on the metal part, thusproviding greater working life to the jack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle jack with areinforcing part in the interior of the vehicle support arm, which doesnot create any kind of noise when the jack is in its folded position.

In order to achieve these objectives, the invention claims a jackprovided with a nut and a U-shaped metal part through which the screwthreaded spindle passes, in which the outer U-shaped body and the innerbody that forms the nut itself are provided with surface areas that makecontact with each other, so that when the jack is bearing a load, theincidence of the nut on the outer body is perfectly distributed.

In particular, the outer metal part is equipped with two longitudinalreinforcements that protrude out from the base of the part and extendparallel to each other towards the front opening in the said outer part.These two side reinforcement provide some vertical surface edges attheir free ends which are transversally aligned and contained in thesame plane.

The said surfaces form two front edges starting from the front openingin the outer U-shaped metal part.

On the other hand, the ends of the U-shaped wings of this outer part areeach provided with inclined areas in a converging direction towards eachother and towards the central plane of the part, in which some widevertically aligned cavities are made. These cavities in turn each formsurface areas, vertically aligned, at the bottom of the said cavitiesand starting from the entrance to the U-shaped body.

This outer metal part also includes two necks protruding from its wings,for insertion into the wings of the vehicle support arm, the same as inWO. A. 99/29615, as well as a hole in the centre of the base to allowthe passage of the threaded screw spindle.

Meanwhile, the inner part or the one which is provided with a screwthreaded hole for the insertion of the screw spindle, has some lateralprojections made on the same side as the side reinforcements of theouter part, with these projections forming rear surface edges which inassembly make contact with the corresponding ones of the above mentionedreinforcements.

In the same way, this part or inner body is also provided with anothertwo carried out in a perpendicular plane to that of the mentionedlateral projections and with these front projections vertically aligned.

The front of this inner part on side nearer the winding handle thatoperates the screw spindle is made with a protruding trunco-conicalarea.

In the assembly of the inner body into the outer one, the followingcircumstances take place:

The converging ends of the wings of the outer body present a certaindifficult for the entry of the inner body, so that once this is housed,these ends act like clips by helping to keep the said inner body in itsposition.

The side surface edges of both the inner and outer bodies that providethe side reinforcements and the projections on each one remain infrontal contact.

The vertical projections on the inner body are housed in the cavities atthe ends of the wings in the outer body, with surface contact alsotaking place between the rear sides of these projections and thesecavities.

It is observed, therefore, that on the inner body being housed insidethe outer one, the contact surface is increased in a longitudinaldirection between both by a considerable amount, so that when the jackis bearing a load, the tendency of the inner body towards the base ofthe exterior one does not create any kind of overload that might disablethe inner body. This body that forms the nut therefore remains preservedin its area of greater commitment of excessive concentration ofstresses.

On the other hand, the inner reinforcing part housed in the interior ofthe vehicle support arm of the jack is provided, at its end nearer tothe screw spindle, with two inclined lugs that converge towards theinterior of the U-shape that forms this auxiliary part. The end orriveted portion of the screw spindle makes contact with these lugs whenthe jack is in its folded position, so that on forcing the windinghandle of the screw spindle in order to carry our folding of the jack,pressure is placed on the said lugs, which might become deformed by thepressure exerted, although always maintaining the appropriate contact.

Therefore, this contact between the two lugs and the riveted or mostforward portion of the screw spindle is ensured in its stored condition,with which any kind of unwanted noise is avoided in the jack foldedposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The object of the invention is shown on the accompanying sheets ofdrawings, and is represented, without any kind of restrictive nature, asfollows:

FIG. 1 is a representation of a “Y” jack to which the invention isapplied.

FIG. 2 is a detail of the upper end of the vehicle support arm, showingthe vehicle support plate and the reinforcing part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective of the outer metal part that holds the plasticwharve.

FIG. 4 is a central longitudinal cross section of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 represents the inner body-plastic wharve in its relationship withthe outer part.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 represent another three view of the inner body-plasticwharve.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the reinforcing part.

FIG. 10 is a view of FIG. 9 seen from the right.

FIG. 11 is a top view of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

With regard to FIG. 1, we can appreciate a jack (1) with the support leg(23), the support foot (25) and the vehicle support arm (24) that pivotsat (32) on the support leg (23). Both are connected at the top by meansof the screw spindle (26) operated by the winding handle (27) that turnsat the end (28) of the screw spindle.

The screw spindle (26) passes through the nut (5) in the support leg(23) and continues towards the vehicle support arm (24) in which thecross member (33) is situated and is fixed to the said arm.

The actions of the screw spindle in one direction or the other cause theraising or the lowering of the leg (23) and the arm (24) andconsequently the raising or lowering of the vehicle support plate (31)that receives the lower edge of the vehicle body.

In FIG. 2 we can point out the reinforcing part (30) used in those casesin which the support leg (23) and the arm (24) are made of an aluminumalloy. The most forward portion (34′) of the screw spindle (26), closeto the cross member (33) almost reaches this reinforcing part.

This auxiliary reinforcing part (30) has an L-shaped elevation, FIG. 9,which is secured to the wings of the vehicle support arm (24), which isgenerally U-shaped, and is rotatably fixed at its ends (25′).

In accordance with FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, we can observe the two inclinedconverging lugs (34) towards the interior of the auxiliary reinforcingpart (30). The end (34′) of the screw spindle is supported on these lugs(34), as shown in FIG. 2, so that when the jack is folded on forcing thescrew spindle in order to reach this position, perfect support of theend (34′) on the lugs (34) is achieved.

In later folding operations, the adjustment is already carried out andthe end (34′) is perfectly received on the two lugs (34) of theauxiliary reinforcing part (30).

With regards to FIG. 3, we can point out the outer part 5″ that formsthe nut (5) for the passage of the screw spindle, with itscharacteristic “U” shape and its two wings (2, 3) on which theprotruding necks (7, 8) are made, for their insertion into the wings ofthe support leg (23). The base or bottom of this part includes a hole(4) for the passage of the screw spindle that passes through the innerbody-plastic wharve, not shown here.

The front opening in this part will receive the inner body, which willoccupy the cavity provided for it, with the opening corresponding to theposition nearest to the winding handle and the base to the positionfarthest from this winding handle.

We can observe in FIGS. 3 and 4 the two longitudinal reinforcements (12)that come from the base and continue in parallel planes for a certaindimension towards the opening in the part. The two reinforcementsprovide the surfaces (6) which are vertical and are contained in asingle transversal plane.

The forward or front area of the part has the two inclined convergingportions (9) in which the vertically aligned cavities (10) have beencut. These two cavities in turn provide the surfaces (11).

The surfaces (6, 9) of this outer body will be used as auxiliary supportfor surface ridges or ledges on the inner body-plastic wharve, inaddition to the conventional one in the base in which the hole (4) ismade, and the converging ends (9) will contribute to the insertion ofthe inner body-plastic wharve and to keeping it there once housed.

From the contents of FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, we can observe the innerbody-plastic wharve (5′) of the cross member, which is equipped with thelongitudinal side projections (18) that create surfaces (20) to makecontact with the surfaces (6) of the outer body; the forward or frontprojections (13) that provide surfaces (17) to make contact with thesurfaces (11) of the outer body, and the surface (22) which will becomeestablished at the base of the outer body, as can be appreciatedparticularly in FIG. 5, where the position of the outer part can be seenpartially, drawn in a thinner line, in its relationship with the innerpart.

In these FIGS. 5 and 7 we can also observe the trunco-conical detail(14) of the portion of the inner part, which will be on the side nearerto the winding handle, and whose purpose is to withstand the contactwith the middle part (19) coming from the connection system with thewinding handle (27).

The inner body-plastic wharve (5′) also has the longitudinal centralhole (21) for the passage of the screw spindle and another tworeinforcing ridges (15, 16), of which the one in the position (16) isrounded on the side facing towards the direction of its insertion intothe outer part (5).

Both ridges (15, 16) also perform the function of preventing unwantedturning of the plastic wharve inside the outer body, a detail that wasreferred to in WO. A. 99/29615.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle jack comprising; a support leg (23)engaged on a support foot (25), a vehicle support arm (24) rotatablyengaged on the support leg (23) and a screw spindle (26) operated by awinding handle (27) threaded through a nut (5) on the support leg, thescrew spindle being engaged to a cross member (33) and rotatably engagedin the support leg (23), an auxiliary part (30) being coaxially engagedwith the cross member (33.) and having a vehicle support plate (31)engaged to a free end thereof, wherein the auxiliary part (30) engagesan end of the screw spindle when the jack is in a folded position,wherein the nut (5) comprises an outer body (5″) and an interior part(5′) engaged in the outer body (5″) at a plurality of surface contactpoints, the screw spindle (26) being threadedly engaged in the interiorpart (5′); and wherein the outer body (5″) has a U-shaped cross section,a base with a hole therethrough, two parallel wings (2, 3) projecting uprespectively from opposite sides of the base which have end edges (6)parallel to the base, two parallel longitudinal reinforcements (12)projecting up, respectively from the base between the two parallel wings(2, 3), ends of the two parallel wings each having a surface (9)inclined toward a central plane of the U-shaped body, each said surface(9) having aligned cavities (10).
 2. The vehicle jack as defined inclaim 1, wherein the inner body (5′) has two side projections (18) thatform two surface areas (20), two aligned front projections (13) thateach create aligned surface areas (17), and a trunco-conicalreinforcement (14) protruding from an end of the inner body (5′) wherethe aligned surface areas (17) are situated.
 3. The vehicle jack asdefined in claim 2, wherein the aligned cavities (10) in the outer body(5″) receive, by clopping together, the two aligned projections (13) onthe inner body (5′), with the aligned surface areas (17) of the innerbody (5′) engaged in cavities (10) of the outer body (5″), while at thesame time contact is also respectively established between the two edges(6) of the outer body (5″) and the two surface areas (20) of the innerbody (5′) and between the trunco-conical projection (13) of the innerbody (5′) and a forward portion (19) of the winding handle (27) whenfolded toward the nut (5).
 4. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 1,wherein the auxiliary part (30) has at an end nearest to the screwspindle, two protruding lugs (34) converging towards an inner cavity, anend portion of the said screw spindle engaging the lugs (34) when thejack is in a folded position.
 5. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 4,wherein the two lugs (34) of the auxiliary part (30) are inclinedtowards an interior thereof.
 6. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 4,wherein the two lugs (34) are contacted by the head of the screw spindle(26) when the jack is in a folded position.
 7. The vehicle jack asdefined in claim 4, wherein the two lugs (34) are contacted by an endriveted portion of the screw spindle (26) when the jack is in a foldedwan position.
 8. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 1, wherein eachsaid surface (9) is inclined in convergence towards each other,providing a narrowing or tapering towards an end of the outer body (5″)which is forced open by the inner body (5′) when inserted into the outerbody (5″).
 9. A vehicle jack comprising; a support leg (23) engaged on asupport foot (25), a vehicle support arm (24) rotatably engaged on thesupport leg (23) and a screw spindle (26) operated by a winding handle(27) threaded through a nut (5) on the support leg (23), the screwspindle being engaged to a cross member (33) rotatably engaged in thesupport leg (23), an auxiliary part (30) being coaxially engaged withthe cross member (33) and having a vehicle support plate (31) engaged toa free end thereof, wherein the auxiliary part (30) engages an end ofthe screw spindle when the jack is in a folded position, wherein the nut(5) comprises an outer body (5″) and an interior part (5′) engaged inthe outer body (5″) at a plurality of surface contact points, the screwspindle (26) being threadedly engaged in the interior part (5′), andwherein the auxiliary part (30) has at an end nearest to the screwspindle, two protruding lugs (34) converging towards an inner cavity, anend portion of the said screw spindle engaging the lugs (34) when thejack is in a folded position.
 10. The vehicle jack as defined in claim9, wherein the outer body (5″) has a U-shaped cross section, a base witha hole therethrough, two parallel wings (2, 3) projecting uprespectively from opposite sides of the base which have end edges (6)parallel to the base, two parallel longitudinal reinforcements (12)projecting up respectively from the base between the two parallel wings(2, 3), ends of the two parallel wings each having a surface (9)inclined toward a central plane of the U-shaped body, each said surface(9) having aligned cavities (10).
 11. The vehicle jack as defined inclaim 10, wherein the inner body (5′) has two side projections (18) thatform two surface areas (20), two aligned front projections (13) thateach create aligned surface areas (17), and a trunco-conicalreinforcement (14) protruding from an end of the inner body (5′) wherethe aligned surface areas (17) are situated.
 12. The vehicle jack asdefined in claim 10, wherein the aligned cavities (10) in the outer body(5″) receive, by clipping together, the two aligned projections (13) onthe inner body (5′), with the aligned surface areas (17) of the innerbody (5′) engaged in cavities (10) of the outer body (5″), while at thesame time contact is also respectively established between the two edges(6) of the outer body (5″) and the two surface areas (20) of the innerbody (5′) and between the trunco-conical projection (13) of the innerbody (5′) and a forward portion (19) of the winding handle (27) whenfolded toward the nut (5).
 13. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 9,wherein each said surface (9) is inclined in convergence towards eachother, providing a narrowing or tapering towards an end of the outerbody (5″) which is forced open by the inner body (5′) when inserted intothe outer body (5″).
 14. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 9, whereinthe two lugs (34) of the auxiliary part (30) are inclined towards aninterior thereof.
 15. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 9, whereinthe two lugs (34) are contacted by the head of the screw spindle (26)when the jack is in a folded position.
 16. The vehicle jack as definedin claim 9, wherein the two lugs (34) are contacted by an end rivetedportion of the screw spindle (26) when the jack is in a folded position.17. A vehicle jack comprising; a support leg (23) engaged on a supportfoot (25) a vehicle support arm (24) rotatably engaged on the supportleg (23) and a screw spindle (26) operated by a winding handle (27)threaded through a nut (5) on the support leg (23), the screw spindlebeing engaged to a cross member (33) rotatably engaged in the supportleg (23), an auxiliary part (30) being coaxially engaged with the crossmember (33) and having a vehicle support plate (31) engaged to a freeend thereof, wherein the auxiliary part (30) engages an end of the screwspindle when the jack is in a folded position, wherein the nut (5)comprises an outer body (5″) and an interior part (5′) engaged in theouter body (5″) at a plurality of surface contact points, the screwspindle (26) being threadedly engaged in the interior part (5′); whereineach said surface (9) is inclined in convergence towards each other,providing a narrowing or tapering towards an end of the outer body (5″)which is forced open by the inner body (5′) when inserted into the outerbody (5″).
 18. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 17, wherein theouter body (5″) has a U-shaped cross section, a base with a holetherethrough, two parallel wings (2, 3) projecting up respectively fromopposite sides of the base which have end edges (6) parallel to thebase, two parallel longitudinal reinforcements (12) projecting uprespectively from the base between the two parallel wings (2, 3), endsof the two parallel wings each having a surface (9) inclined toward acentral plane of the U-shaped body, each said surface (9) having alignedcavities (10).
 19. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 18, wherein theinner body (5′) has two side projections (18) that form two surfaceareas (20), two aligned front projections (13) that each create alignedsurface areas (17), and a trunco-conical reinforcement (14) protrudingfrom an end of the inner body (5′) where the aligned surface areas (17)are situated.
 20. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 19, wherein thealigned cavities (10) in the outer body (5″) receive, by clippingtogether, the two aligned projections (13) on the inner body (5′), withthe aligned surface areas (17) of the inner body (5′) engaged incavities (10) of the outer body (5″), while at the same time contact isalso respectively established between the two edges (6) of the outerbody (5″) and the two surface areas (20) of the inner body (5′) andbetween the trunco-conical projection (13) of the inner body (5′) and aforward portion (19) of the winding handle (27) when folded toward thenut (5).
 21. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 17, wherein theauxiliary part (30) has at an end nearest to the screw spindle, twoprotruding lugs (34) converging towards an inner cavity, and end portionof the said screw spindle engaging the lugs (34) when the jack is in afolded position.
 22. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 21, whereinthe two lugs (34) of the auxiliary part (30) are inclined towards aninterior thereof.
 23. The vehicle jack as defined in claim 21, whereinthe two lugs (34) are contacted by the head of the screw spindle (26)when the jack is in a folded position.
 24. The vehicle jack as definedin claim 21, wherein the two lugs (34) are contacted by an end rivetedportion of the screw spindle (26) when the jack is in a folded position.